Fated (Shinso Hitoshi x Reader)
by aetherlocket
Summary: When the homeschooled (Y/n) goes to UA to begin an unpaid job in the nurse's office, she knows that she is to meet her soulmate that day. (Y/n) has a timer embedded on her body at birth, signaling when she is to meet her soulmate, and her parents decide to keep it on her instead of undergoing surgery to remove it. Being one of the few of her generation that still has this timer, sh
1. Fateful Encounter

"There's a clock embedded in my thigh, Mom. And it's counting down. Is that normal?"

I had asked this question many times over the years, but at ten years old was when my mother finally dignified me with a sincere and truthful answer. It manifested as a small horizontal portion of my skin with the numbers of an analog clock that was slowly counting down with each passing second. Every time I stared at it, I grew more and more anxious and paranoid. At first I thought it was some kind of curse, and that the timer was ominously counting down to my time of death. I was deathly afraid to let my parents know that I have an indicator telling me that I would apparently die in a few years, most likely before they would, and that they should begin the funeral preparations, and mental preparations for my burial as well.

"When the time hits zero, you'll know that you have met your soulmate.. Provided that your future doesn't change," my mother told me on my tenth birthday.

"Soulmate?" I repeated and promptly shook my head. "I don't get it." Then she sat down with me and patted my back, accompanied with a dreamy sigh.

"Soulmate. The person you're destined to be with. Your one and only."

Ten year old me was surprised, but relieved I wouldn't die in my teens. (Well, if I did, I wouldn't know until it was about to happen.) "So, a soulmate is like, telling you who you should marry and stuff?

"Not necessarily. You can be happy with someone else, but you'll still be created for someone else to love in the end."

"Are you and Dad soulmates?"

"No," she answered solemnly. "My soulmate died before I could ever meet them. So did his. That's why we connected. We shared something very big in common. Knowledge that the person who we were destined to be with was not even on this Earth anymore. We were both scared of dying alone."

I didn't ask often about Dad, because I could see Mom was clearly upset whenever I did so, so I stopped speaking about him.

"Is it really possible to be truly, one hundred percent happy with someone that isn't your soulmate?" I asked, even if she had technically answered it already. "I mean, it doesn't make sense. One hundred percent happiness, wouldn't it be with the person you were made for? How can that be, if your soulmate is the person that you're best with?"

"Me and your dad, we thought we were happy, and we knew that we weren't soulmates," she began. "But we were truly happy. He had his reasons for leaving, but he says that he still loves me. I'm not so sure about that in retrospect, but I'm sure he has a reason, because he hasn't dated anyone else since we separated."

"Mom.."

"There are many people in the world that you can fall in love with other than your soulmate. But your chosen soulmate is the one that was chosen for you. No one is stopping you from choosing someone else, but just know that the two of you were created to meet and fall in love. In time, all soulmates who meet and talk to each other will fall in love with no matter how much they may despise one another."

She told me more, including the fact that most people had their timers removed when they are born, because they didn't believe that all soulmates were actually compatible, and some thought it was offensive, and even sexist. Many fell in love with someone else. Many were killed over it. Lying about who their soulmate is, finding out your partner was soulmates with someone else the entire time.. and many killed themselves when they found out their soulmate had died or lived too far to ever meet them. Some had an infinity or other symbol on their timer, which meant it would take a unique course of events for the two to ever meet, so unique that the timer hadn't comprehended an alternate universe for such a scenario. A true miracle would have to take place for them to meet. There were many books about this, but it hadn't happened yet, not once.

But I believed. Ever since, I've been daydreaming about how my soulmate would look like, how they would treat me, how many kids we would have.. but now, in my last year of middle school at thirteen, I've forgotten all about the timer, and I wish that I had forgotten about it completely.

The last time I checked it, at the end of my last middle school year, it said that I would meet my soulmate in 1463 hours, or about two months. Two months would mark the end of summer and the start of a new school year, so that would mean I will meet my soulmate in the beginning of high school.

The problem was, I was homeschooled.

On the other hand, my mother had mentioned the possibility of getting me an unpaid intern job at UA, and then my hope returned. It sounded really cheesy to me, but knowing that my soulmate will be a high school sweetheart, in a way, makes my heart beat in ways I never knew that it could. I promised myself I wouldn't get crushes on random boys (before I found out what the timer meant) but now I see that it is not necessary to tell myself that.

I had hoped so hard for my belief in soulmates to stay put where it is; in a sunny and cheerful place.

At the same time, I began growing scared at the thought of knowing who my soulmate will be. What if I don't truly love them, as if I feel forced to? What if they're an asshole or abusive? What if they don't have a timer and don't believe me? What if they don't believe in soulmates? What if I'm already in deep love with someone else? What if the future changes, and something happens to them before we can even meet?

As mom said, you can be capable with someone that isn't your soulmate.. but knowing that you're destined by the gods to be with someone else is a little jarring.

Would it be just.. false love at that point? If one truly loved someone that isn't their destined soulmate, and they truly loved them back, then why aren't THEY their soulmate instead of the other person?

Well, maybe I'll find that out myself one day..?

**. . .**

I did nothing throughout my summer because I was pretty much friendless. Cleaning the house was my new favorite hobby because I got to see my mother happy and more relaxed throughout the day. I also helped her cook and bought the ingredients.

Tending and speaking to my pet bird or hamster was my downtime. They were my only friends. My fat hamster was fast asleep at the time, so I decided to speak to my pet bird. His name was Pii, pronounced Fi. His feathers were all the primary colors; red, yellow and blue, and he obnoxiously flapped them to get my attention all the time.

"Boring day, huh?" He'd say once I looked at him with a glare. I'd chuckle and nod.

He'd suggest that I read something, and I'd agree to the idea, until I get bored of that, and turn back to laying on my bed doing nothing.

"Can I have some snackies?"

"I literally just fed you."

"Would you rather have me wake you up in the middle of the night for food?"

"Yeah, I'm too lazy right now," I said and flopped backwards onto my bed. I picked up my blanket and threw it over my body. "Wake me up whenever you want, Pii."

"If that's what you want," he said. "Anyways, how's your life going? What's new?"

"Well, I'm gonna be an unpaid intern in a few weeks, on top of school, so.." I sighed. "I'm a lil' stressed."

"School is at home, so I don't really see the big deal."

"You don't even witness my lessons, you're in a cage in my room. It's actually super hard, and obviously you wouldn't understand even if you were there."

"Whaaatever," Pii cawed, ignoring me. "What's your little job anyway?"

"Helping out at the nurse's office."

"I thought you wanted to be a vet?"

"Well yeah," I mumbled. "I was kinda destined for it because of my quirk thats allowing my conversation with a bird to exist, but I want to try out general medicine before. I'm still young, so I can take all the experience in the general field as I can get."

"I don't get you humans. Anyways, soulmate soon?" Pii said. If he was human and not in a cage, he would probably be nudging my elbow and winking.

"Yeah.." I said and looked up at my boring ceiling. "A few more weeks. I'm kinda scared."

"Don't be," Pii said. "Do you have condoms?"

"Pii!" I scolded him. "You're a bird, you shouldn't be thinking that!"

"I've learned a lot of things about humans over the years," Pii cooed. "And I know one thing: getting pregnant at your age isn't the best idea."

"I won't be getting pregnant or doing anything remotely like.. that.. for a while," I mumbled. "Scratch that, ever."

"Ever?" Pii questioned. "So you're a forever virgin? What will your soulmate think?"

I sighed deeply. "Look, my soulmate might not even like me. Or maybe, I don't like them. A lot of things happen, and a lot of people don't end up with their soulmates even though they are aware of the other's existence. How about that?"

"But like.." Pii whimpered. "You're meant to be together. You're super young, you have forever to fall in love. Besides, it's really easy to fall in love at this age."

"Most people don't have timers and stopped listening to fate a long time ago and began listening to whatever is pleasing to the eye.." I croaked, blanket up to my face, ready to sleep. "Just because I'll know who my soulmate is, doesn't mean I'll get a happy ending."

"Ah.. I see."

"Mhm."

"Because real life isn't always like that."

"Yeah." I smiled. "You got it."

He understood me for once.

In a flash, it was a week before the first day at UA. I wasn't attending as a student, but my mother had succeeded in 'talking the staff into letting me help in the nurse's office' since I had prior experience in shelters. I don't know how if she has any ties with them that allowed this to happen, or if she was lying about the circumstances, but I'd rather not ask, just in case. I'm just grateful for her. I want to be a veterinarian, so this opportunity in general is too good to pass up. It's free experience in the nursing area. Plus, I'm homeschooled by super compassionate mom. What more can I ask for?

175 hours left, as I saw this morning in the shower. By now, it should be around 170. A little more than a week.. it was correlating perfectly with school time. Goddamnit.

**One week later . . . **

I jolted awake; it was my first day and my body knew it. I talked to my now awake pet hamster, which I hadn't named yet, for a few minutes. It was something I tried to do everyday, but was a bit difficult since he liked to sleep so much. This made Pii the Bird very jealous, even though I speak to Pii everyday as well. The hamster that had yet to be named always said weird things like, "Bring me food, mortal," in response to me saying, "Hello," which made me think he was possessed. Of course, it perfectly convinced me to bring him all the food he wanted.

Then my mother kissed me goodbye and wished me luck. She also told me to keep an eye out for my soulmate, and to pray that they don't have a timer, because she wouldn't allow me to go on a date with them anyways. She suggested that I build a normal friendship with them first.

I think she just wants me to be happy. As she never got to meet her soulmate, I think she doesn't want me to go through the same thing, and that's why she kept my timer. But that's just a theory of mine.

I ignored her because my face was heated up and my heart was at its limit and ran out the door.

I was technically an unpaid intern, but my mom would be paying me a little under minimum wage for it, plus an allowance every two weeks. She was the best mom I could ever ask for, even without a partner or support from anywhere. Of course, I took the money with much love and thanks, but placed it back in her wallet later on. I loved seeing her relieved, knowing she had some money left after all when she was stressed out about the bills. It's not like I needed it anyways.

It was then that I remembered my mother's words earlier, and it was then that I fully computed them and realized, on the bus..

Today's the day.

THE day.

Oh man..

**. . . **

There was lots of time before school started, so the courtyard was pretty much empty. There was a building with all the dorms across from the school, which I thought was pretty neat. It would save a lot of money for my mother if I lived in the UA dorms, but we don't have enough money to enroll anyways.

I walked into the main building, the constant echo of my shoes accompanied by the eerie silence making me a bit nervous. It was pretty much empty, not even a staff member around the doors.

I aimlessly walked around, passing empty classrooms before I saw a scraggly man with a scarf carrying a large yellow sleeping bag, scuffling over to the 1A classroom, his eyes half closed.

"Excuse me sir.." I nervously said. "Do you know where the nurse's office is?"

He stopped, turned and stared at me for a moment. His expression before could only resemble sleepiness and being immensely bored. But when we locked eyes, I couldn't pinpoint the new emotion in his eyes. My prediction was a series that consisted of confusion, epiphany, and surprise. I wondered what was his deal.

He broke out of his trance and nodded. "Yeah. I'll take you there," he said, escorting me the nurse's office just around the corner.

"Thank you," I said quietly and bowed.

He stopped me. "Are you a new student?"

"No," I replied with a professional tone. "I'm.. kind of an intern of sorts. I'm homeschooled. I just wear the uniform to represent."

"I see," he replied. "I'm Mr. Aizawa, the class 1A teacher. If you have any questions, feel free to ask me. Recovery Girl should be in the office."

Aizawa didn't wait for me to respond. He walked back around the corner in the same slumped posture and slow pace.

It was thirty minutes before the gates would be open for all students to enter the school. I knocked softly on the entrance to the office.

"Come in."

I turned the doorknob, but not before taking a deep breath. An old lady waved at me and gestured for me to sit down across from her in a rolling chair. I did as she wanted.

"You're (Y/n) (L/n), correct?" Recovery Girl questioned and began writing in a notepad.

"Yes," I said nervously and stared at the floor.

"Today is your first day, so I'll go easy on you." She was getting right down to business. "You'll be here on Mondays and Wednesdays to help out here. Though if you want to come any other day, feel free to, and you'll be paid for it."

"For real?" I beamed. "Er, I mean.. that's so nice of you."

"Yes. It sounds nice, but it may turn out to be more work than you expected it to be.." she warned. "So don't jump straight into it."

I chuckled. "I have a question," I said. "How is my mother.. well, affiliated with you guys, if that's the right word. How'd she get me this position?"

Recovery Girl looked at me with sorrow in her expression. I became a bit angry, but I knew how to control my emotions. They were bottled up very tightly in my chest, but I could clearly feel them bubbling and boiling. They didn't have a chance of exploding the cork off, however.

I was angry because she apparently knew something that I didn't about my own mother, something that I should absolutely know, and she was depriving me of that.

She blatantly lied to me. "There are no ties. We heard of your situation and decided to take you in. Come on, I'll show you the basics. We don't have much time."

I gave up and began following her, listening to her words. She showed me around her office, what the tools she had were meant for, how to care for an open wound, which medicines were appropriate to use, and more. She was so sweet and kind that I forgot what she had done, and I had soon forgiven her.

"Are you excited?" asked Recovery Girl.

"Yes. I'm just kind of.. on edge."

"Why is that?"

"I'm supposed to meet my soulmate today. Like, in a few minutes, according to my timer," I admitted.

"Oh, really?" she marveled. "You have that? Well, I was just about to ask you to go get something for me at the pharmacy, so you'll probably meet them along the way there or back."

"If that's the case.. So if I don't go, what will happen?" I asked.

"Well, the timer will probably have a few added hours, but since they probably attend this school, so you won't be able to escape it forever."

I groaned and covered my face. "I'm just so nervous. I'm sorry."

"Whenever you do meet them, your timer will beep. Just hit the area where your timer is located and it'll stop immediately, if you don't want them knowing," she advised.

I hadn't heard of this advice until now. It sounded like a total life saver, to be honest. My mother probably never had to stop her time, since her soulmate was dead, so I understood why she hadn't told me about this.

"Be careful," she advised me.

I knew she said this because she was skeptical of soulmates. After all, the phenomenon began after she was born, so she wouldn't understand the feeling anyways. It was rare to see someone that was _my _age that had a timer and believed in all of this, let alone someone of her age being supportive of it.

She asked me to pick up a few Epi-Pens, nonprescription cold medicine, and lots of female hygiene products from the pharmacy nearby before school started. She handed me the amount of money I needed.

I had only ten minutes before the doors to the school were opened. When I walked out, I saw lots and lots of students hanging out. It made me feel self conscious even though they probably hadn't even noticed my presence.

I walked past the gates, hoping to stay invisible. I walked down the sidewalk, past a few buildings until I saw the large sign of the pharmacy, bright and glowing. A letter looked as if it was going to fall off any second.

I picked up my speed a little bit when suddenly, a black cat came racing across the corner and stopped at my feet.

I instantly crouched down and pet its head. "Hi there," I cooed. I was very easily distracted by cute animals.

"Hello. How is your day going?" asked the cat.

It had beautiful blue eyes. One of them was quite dull, droopy, and a bit lifeless, however, and there was a small scar through it. Its fur was the softest I've ever felt, it was obviously well cared for. I thought of the possibility that it was abused in the past judging from the scar, and its new owner was doing a great job. It seemed to have no trust issues whatsoever.

"It's my first day as an unpaid intern. I'm pretty nervous," I replied. I left out the soulmate part. I didn't need a cat making fun of me for it. I already got enough of that from Pii.

"Someone as young as you working?" The cat tilted its head.

"Oh, stop it."

The cat smiled. "I may be blind in one eye, but I can see you shouldn't be working just yet. Maybe playing with dolls."

"It's a long story." I ignored its little comment, picked up the cat and rubbed it. "You're so soft. I kinda want to adopt you, but my mom is allergic to cats."

"I know I'm beautiful, but sorry, but I have an owner already. He'd be super mad if I went with someone else," it purred and rubbed its head against my cheek. "Plus, he's the best. Don't tell him I said that though."

"Oh really?" I said, disappointed, but happy because he was being well taken care of. "Is he nearby? What are you doing alone?"

"Oh, you don't have to worry," the cat snickered and tilted his head to the side, his tiny ears moving a bit to point back. I looked behind him to see a teenaged boy in a UA uniform running towards me.

I began to stand, and then I heard my timer start to beep loudly. It sounded like a damn fire alarm.

_Shit. _

I slapped my thigh super hard, which probably looked super stupid to the cat and to the cat's owner. The timer abruptly stopped beeping, just as the old lady told me it would.

"Hey!" The boy pointed at me as he closed in. "What are you doing? Put him down."

"S-S-Sorry!" I immediately obeyed. "I can talk to animals and he came up to me and.. I-I thought he was a stray. He's really cute. Uh- I'm sorry.."

The lavender haired boy caught up to me, picked up the cat and stroked its head. He closed his eyes. The cat purred and winked at me.

"Forget it." He sighed deeply. "He ran away. I have to take him back home before school, so I gotta run. Thanks for stopping him, though.. I guess."

The boy rubbed his cheek on the cat, smiling a bit as the cat licked him.

I found myself lost in his eyes, analyzing him. He was a UA student. This was my soulmate, no doubt about it. There was no one else nearby. He didn't have a timer, it seemed. There was no second beep and no realization in his expression. To him, I was just another annoying girl who was trying to kidnap his cat or something. The thought almost made me cry on the spot.

For the moment, I hadn't felt any attraction him, even though he was definitely my type. Maybe it was because I was high on adrenaline and scared to death. He likes animals, has cute and messy hair, a seemingly laid back personality, and on the plus side, he was very handsome for someone who doesn't seem to take care of themselves as much as one should.

"Wait!" I called out the moment he turned around, cat in his arms.

"Yeah?" he asked without looking back.

"What's your name?"

His shoulders seemed to relax, and he looked back at me. "Hitoshi Shinso," he said in a dead tone. "Why are you asking?"

_Tell him._

_Tell him._

"Um.. I.. Nothing."

I completely chickened out and frantically walked past him. I speed-walked to the pharmacy across the street, my face a burning mess. I don't think I had ever felt such intense heat pooled up in one area of my body before. It wasn't love at first sight, but knowing that we were.. created for each other was almost unbearable, knowing that while staring at his obviously unimpressed expression. I had been waiting so long for my soulmate only to chicken out of a real conversation. He looked so bored and annoyed with me. I didn't even tell him MY name!

I didn't know what to feel.

Was I supposed to be this conflicted with my feelings after meeting my soulmate?

Shouldn't I just fall in love right away?

It began to rain, bright and early on a summer morning.

I got the cold medicine. I got the hygiene products and the Epi-Pens using the money given to me. I held the bag low as I walked out and didn't even put my hand over my head.

I found myself questioning everything in front of a pharmacy at seven in the morning.


	2. Nine to Five

By the time I headed back to the school, I was still miserable, I was soaked, and school had already started. I was glad no one had to see me like that in the courtyard. As I walked back, I could hear the different classes going on, not like I was in any way interested. Some of the doors were open and I could see the unique students and their teachers.

I passed by Aizawa's classroom and I couldn't help but stare. Something about him was so familiar as he stood there, bored. I diverted my attention to his class, which seemed to really like him. A blond boy noticed me and waved. I frantically turned and speed-walked down the hall. As you can see, I'm not very used to attention of any kind from anyone other than my mother.

When I got back to Recovery Girl's office, Shinso and a few other students walked out with a late pass in his hand. The cat may have caused him more trouble than he thought it would.

What a perfect chance to tell your soulmate that you are destined for a future together, right? Not exactly. I mustered the courage to lock eyes with him and smiled, then cringed at my own actions. I lowered my head and immediately shuffled past him as quickly as possible before I could interpret his reaction. In fact, he didn't smile back or anything.

What is wrong with me, seriously?!

I could've sworn he looked back, probably because I was soaking, but I didn't bother to check as I ran into the office, ready to be buried alive. I should probably put some effort into my appearance before anything else.

"You're soaking wet!"

Her voice bombarded my ears the moment I walked in. Recovery Girl insisted on me being wrapped in a large towel like some kind of human burrito when I came back. She took the bag of items I bought and began to take them out one by one on the counter, making sure everything was there. And so I sat miserably in her office, waiting for her to sort out her things.

"Ten dollars left over. Why didn't you get an umbrella?" she asked me in a concerned tone.

I told her, "Oh, I didn't see any." In reality, I didn't even think of that. I wouldn't have used her money without permission, even if I had thought of the idea.

"Anyways, how did it go?" she asked with curiosity.

I didn't reply. I knew she was talking about the whole soulmate thing from that sly emphasis. Instead, my gaze was locked into the ground as if it were my greatest enemy.

Recovery Girl didn't say a word, put down a syringe and hugged me softly when she saw my expression. I almost felt bad for ignoring her.

"I know you don't want to talk about it, so I'll leave you be.. but just know that I'm here."

I thanked her mentally and took my arms out of the towel, hugging her back awkwardly while careful not to get her too wet. "Thank you. You're too nice."

She chuckled in response. She really felt like a caring grandma. She had the same type of warm feeling as my own mother.

"Is there like.. a counselor here? I just need to blow off some steam," I asked. I had no one to talk to about my concerns besides my mother, and there were some things that I couldn't even tell her.

"Yes but he's on vacation right now, but I know another faculty member you can speak to." Recovery Girl smiled. "I'll introduce you to him.. after you finish your work here."

And so I waited in her office for someone to potentially come in whilst I tidied up her cabinets and organized the materials that I bought. She sat humming in a chair doing some kind of paperwork. It was probably something having to do with care plans. I had no idea about any of that stuff. I was out of luck.

"I know what you're thinking," she suddenly began. "Usually, even if there aren't any hurt students, a faculty member comes in here to talk to me, or ask some questions. There is also sometimes physical labor to do, but since it's the first day, they're all busy at the moment, and the day will be pretty slow."

"Oh, I don't find it boring at all," I said without thinking.

"I never said anything about that. You admitted it yourself right now."

"Oh.." I looked away in embarrassment and Recovery Girl laughed wholeheartedly.

Later, Recovery Girl asked me why I had accepted this offer on top of having school. I thought long and hard. I knew why I took it, but it was hard to put into words. I needed to pull some truths out of me that even I didn't know for sure just yet.

"I want to be a vet, I have no interest in being a hero, so I never considered actually enrolling here," I replied. "It's not like I have the money. And any experience in nursing or medicine is something I can't pass up, especially in my teens, I guess.. I also didn't want to let my mom down. Now she has more time to make money while I'm not at home."

"A nine to five job as a kid is still a little overboard, don't you think?" Recovery Girl teased. "You seem like a very hardworking girl, however. I don't think you'll have a problem."

"Thank you."

We talked and talked. She was beginning to get very easy to speak to. Even though she had lied to me earlier that morning, I forgot all about it. She doesn't have the right to tell me things about my mother anyways.. I'll let her do it herself.

Time flew by. I checked the clock and was surprised to see that I was halfway through the day.

"Lunchtime," Recovery Girl announced. "You can go down to the lunch room and make some friends while I go to the teachers lounge to eat. I'll have something for you to do when you get back."

"Oh, uh.." I began to panic.

Where would I sit? If all the tables have people seated at them, I'll have a very hard time asking to sit down there. I'll look like a freak. After all, everyone already knows each other from last year. What am I to do? I didn't protest, however.

**. . . **

It was so loud. My eardrums threatened to burst. It got even louder somehow when I realized I was awkwardly standing in the middle of the cafeteria looking around like a lost puppy. It felt like all eyes were on me, even though I knew that, in fact, no eyes were on me.

My mother gave me a few dollars that morning. I used it to buy some chips from a vending machine instead of buying actual food, because I was too awkward to go on the actual line, and was also skeptical of whether the food was good. But snacks from a vending machine have never failed me before; it was nothing new to me. I was used to school food being absolutely terrible, but when I saw the steaming, delicious looking plates of rice, sushi and more on the student's plates as I looked for a table holding a single small bag of potato chips, the more I regretted my actions.

I walked back, looking for a hopefully empty table. All of them were full until I passed by one that only had a single person sitting at it. I decided that it was my best bet.

Shinso and his messy bright hair sat alone at that table. It probably wasn't by force or because he had no choice. He looked like the type to prefer being alone. He stared off into space and showed no signs of stopping as he slowly ate his rice.

I overheard some other plain looking students gossiping amongst themselves.

"Why's that guy always by himself? It's been a year and he _still_ has no friends."

"Would you willingly even sit at the same table as a guy that could _literally_ control you?"

"No sir."

"If he becomes a villain, _don't_ say I didn't warn everyone."

I rolled my eyes. It sounded like a powerful quirk, whatever it was exactly. I didn't know him personally just yet, but I could tell he wasn't the type of person to take advantage of someone. They purposely spoke low enough so that he couldn't hear them, which only made me angrier when I saw how peaceful he was slurping on noodles, totally oblivious to the insults.

And so I did something that took way more courage than I currently had in my system, just to spite those students. I walked up to him nervously. Even if he doesn't like me, I was hoping to become at least friends with the boy.

"Um, it's my first day and I have no one to sit with.. is it ok if I eat here?"

_'I overdid that explanation..'_ I thought. Shinso looked up at me. I could practically sense his annoyance. He then looked down at my chips and shrugged before looking back at his own full plate of really good looking food, although a simple selection. I wished deeply that I could afford that.

"I won't stop you," he said.

"Thank you.." I mumbled and sat down frantically next to him. I was paranoid about the distance between us too. Am I too close? Would he think I'm a crazy stalker if I got a bit closer? If I'm too far, will he think it's because there is something wrong with him?

I told my brain to shut up and opened my chip bag.

"She is _desperate_.."

They were a bit louder this time. I ignored them but couldn't ignore the pang in my heart. I noticed Shinso looked back, his eyebrows furrowed, but he soon turned back around to avert his attention to his food again. He rolled his eyes.

"Are you ok?" I blurted out. I meant to say something along the lines of, How are you, but my brain short circuited. Something was clearly wrong with me.

Shinso seemed annoyed. Then again, I see everyone has been annoyed with me sometime, somehow, somewhere. "Yeah," he said and took a long slurp of his soba, finishing it completely and then turning back to his rice. I found it to be a weird combination of food, but it made me hungry.

I smiled. "What is your cat's name?" I asked, desperate to make small talk. Maybe those other students were right after all. I just wanted to get to know him a bit better.

He visibly shifted in his seat. He looked at me for a moment and lowered his chopsticks. "Why do you want to know?"

I flinched and looked down at my bag. "No reason. Sorry, nevermi-"

"Lucky. That's his name," Shinso admitted. "What, you thinking of _kidnapping_ him or something?"

"No! N..Not at all," I stuttered. "He's just really cute. I have enough pets already."

Shinso raised a brow. "What kind?"

"A bird and a hamster," I replied. I found it easier and easier to speak to him by the second.

"So you can talk to animals, right?"

"Yeah," I shyly said. I didn't speak much about my quirk to people. I hadn't even realized that I finished the bag of chips. I pushed it away from me slowly. "They know just as much as we do about the world. I think I was destined to be a vet, so that's what I'm aiming for."

"Then why are you in a hero school?"

Shinso seemed to regret what he said, because he flushed and opened his mouth to say something, but I replied before he could do so.

"I'm not enrolled here." I chuckled. "I'm just an intern who wears the uniform actually." His embarrassment was, to put it simply, _incredibly_ cute.

"Oh." Shinso's face fell. "That's nice."

_'Did I say something wrong?'_

Shinso didn't continue the conversation. I was feeling risky that day, so I opened my big mouth again, but not before racking my brain for something relevant to say.

"Lucky. He's really nice."

"Did Lucky say anything about me that I should know this morning?" Shinso asked. "You seemed to be having a conversation with him."

I thought about it for a good second. "Yeah. He said that you're the best owner a cat could have. He told me not to mention it to you, but I think that it's really cute."

Shinso didn't reply, but instead lowered his head and cracked a small smile. I could tell that he didn't smile often, so I cherished the sight.

"Do you want some of my rice..?"

"Huh?" I blinked in surprise.

"Just chips won't satisfy hunger, you know," Shinso insisted, eyeing the empty bag I left on the table. "Your stomach. It's _kinda_ loud."

_'Hah, I hadn't even noticed. That's embarrassing.' _

"No, really, it's ok. I'm not hungry."

I fiddled with my skirt. I suddenly began to feel anxious and self conscious when he stared at me, waiting for an answer.

"Liar. Here." He didn't wait for me to respond and gave the bowl to me. "I wasn't feeling that hungry anyways."

I was about to say something, to refuse, but he interrupted me before a word could come sputtering out.

"Don't feel selfish or bad about it," he groaned. "I won't let you go hungry just because you can't afford it."

_'I can, I'm just dumb.'_

"Thank you.." I whispered and awkwardly picked up the chopsticks. I felt my face burn as I held them.

"Do you want new ones? Here." Shinso offered. He held out his hand with two new chopsticks fresh from a plastic bag.

"Thank you," I said again and nervously went to take them from his hand.

I practically felt my heart burst when our skin touched for a millisecond, but he pulled away naturally and didn't respond. He went back to staring into space.

I switched the chopsticks out and carefully placed his onto his place. "Thank you so much," I repeated.

"Stop thanking me," he pointed out shamelessly.

"Sorry."

"Don't do that either."

"Sor-.. Ok, I promise that I won't."

I silenced myself with a mouthful of rice, of which I was so thankful for, but wasn't allowed to express to him without being rejected.

He watched me until I swallowed for the first time, then he turned away, satisfied.

My eyes lit up immediately. It tasted like heaven on Earth, and it was just a simple taste of white rice! Before I knew it, more than half of the bowl was gone.

When I looked over to Shinso again, after my stomach began to feel a bit full, he was leaning his head on his hand, his eyebrows curved up and a sly smile on his face. He looked too amused for his own good.

I felt my face burn and immediately put down the chopsticks.

"So you _were_ hungry?"

"Maybe I was.." I couldn't bring myself to look at him. "I know I promise not to say it, but thank you. For.. being so nice. Really."

His smile fell. "I don't get people wanting to associate with me often, so I try not to scare them away."

"Huh?" I tilted my head. "Why wouldn't people want to associate with you? Is it because you're reserved?"

He chuckled. "No. It's _definitely_ my quirk."

I softened at the sight of his eyes falling closed in sadness. "It has to do with controlling people right? I think that's really cool."

He didn't move for a moment, then looked at me. He had a habit of doing that, as if he had to look at me to think of something to say. He shook his head. "A lot of people say that. I know it's not true. Deep down, they all _hate_ me for it."

Then we were dismissed, and he vanished into a crowd without saying goodbye before I could convince him. As the students were to go to their next classes, I felt alone as I threw out the bowl with little rice remaining.

**. . .**

When I went back, Recovery Girl gave me a stack of very wordy and complicated looking papers to scan and email to different faculty members. It took me about two hours to scan all of them and send them to their owners.

I was ecstatic when a student came into the office. I instantly perked up and asked the student what was wrong.

"Someone accidentally cut me with their quirk. Can I have a band-aid?"

I happily went to the cupboards and took out a box full of band-aids. I gave him two, just in case, and wished him a good afternoon.

It was a very simple case, but Recovery Girl must've seen how happy I was to help someone who was hurt.

"You're a natural," she teased.

It was three thirty and all of the students were heading back to their dorms by the time I finished the second stack of paperwork scanning. Recovery Girl walked up to me with a proposal.

"You have two hours left, but since it's your first day, I'll allow you to go see who I was talking to you about this morning."

I smiled brightly. "Thank you!"

I picked up the office phone for her and she dialed a number.

"Come down, would you? I have someone I want you to meet," she said to the other line.

I was dying with anticipation as I sat fiddling with my skirt. It was becoming a habit. A few minutes later, a blond man with.. unique hair and a loud voice burst in, greeting the both of us.

"And who is _this_?" He grinned at the sight of me. He patted my head and made me feel extremely small, but I knew he had good intentions.

"Our intern," Recovery Girl replied. "_Don't_ harass her. She says she needs someone to speak to. She met her soulmate today."

I blushed profusely and covered my face. I didn't need multiple adults knowing that.

"Aw! You poor soul," he cooed and ruffled my hair. "It's ok. I may not have that much wisdom to share, but I know someone else who will want to hear about this too. Come to the teachers lounge with me!"

**. . . **

"...And I chickened out before I could tell him."

Midnight, a mature woman became red in the face listening to my story about petty high school soulmate problems. Mic was practically fainting as well.

"And I sat next to him at lunch today-"

"You what?" Midnight exclaimed. "Oh, you are so _brave_! I _couldn't_ have!"

"Really?" I looked down at the floor. "I just.. wanted to at _least_ become friends with him first."

"Oh, innocent high school love is my _greatest_ weakness!" Midnight held her heart.

Mic nodded in agreement. "He is a lucky guy. Though it sounds like it'll take a while to get him to open up, don't you think?"

I nodded furiously. "He's a.. real challenge, I think. But.."

"Hm?"

"Won't it just be.. even _more_ rewarding when he opens up?"

"That's the spirit!" Midnight laughed. "The more you make an effort to talk to him, the faster he'll fall for you, trust me."

"_Or_ you could let him know that you're soulmates-"

Midnight slapped Mic upside the head. "_Terrible_ idea!"

Mic rubbed the bruised spot. "Well, _sorry_! That's how I met my girlfriend so I _may_ be a little biased."

"Build up a friendship with him," Midnight insisted. "A guy like him will only begin to show his feelings after you've _truly_ broken him, so don't give up if he acts cold and uninterested. It'll _all_ come together, don't worry dear."

I listened to Midnight. She seemed to have... experience, and she was my best bet.

Before I knew it, the two hours were over, and the teachers were headed out while the students were already in their dorms. I threw my bag over my shoulder. The only times I would be able to see Shinso were during lunchtime, and if he were to ever hurt himself, on Mondays and Wednesdays. This isn't fair. Not one bit.

But there was nothing I could do, so I let the life's waves carry me to the other side. There was no need to rush, but then again, I may have competition on my hands.


End file.
